New York City police charge
Saturday Night Live actor with assault and harassment
Alec Baldwin has denied punching a motorist in the face in a struggle to secure a
Manhattan parking space.
The American actor, known for his satirical television impersonations of Donald Trump and for strident criticism of the US president’s policies, has been charged with misdemeanour, assault and harassment.
It was reported that Baldwin began arguing with another driver after a kerbside spot that was being saved for the actor by a family member was taken. The motorist involved was treated in hospital for pain in his jaw.
Police told the press that Baldwin “assaulted someone for a parking spot that they were both going for”. The actor was taken into custody near his Greenwich
Village home on Friday afternoon and left the police station later with an order to appear in court on 26 November.
Baldwin, who claims he was trying to park his Cadillac Escalade when a man driving a Saab quickly pulled up and took the space, protested against early accounts of the fracas. He tweeted: “Normally, I would not comment on something as egregiously misstated as today’s story. However, the assertion that I punched anyone over a parking spot is false. I wanted to go on the record stating as much.
“I realise that it has become a sport to tag people with as many negative charges and defaming allegations as possible for the purposes of clickbait entertainment. Fortunately, no matter how reverberating the echoes, it doesn’t make the statements true.”
Minutes after the incident, Trump, who has been regularly parodied by Baldwin on Saturday Night Live, was asked to comment on the actor’s arrest. “I wish him luck,” he said.
Baldwin, who starred in 30 Rock, has also won three Emmy awards, two Golden Globes, seven Screen Actors Guild awards and been nominated for an Academy award.
In 2014 he was arrested for disorderly conduct after he was caught riding his bicycle the wrong way in traffic and became belligerent.
In 2013 he was suspended from his talkshow Up Late after using an anti-gay slur when arguing with a photographer in New York City. He issued an apology for this comment, saying he “did not intend to hurt or offend anyone”.
After the apology, his daughter Ireland Basinger-Baldwin defended him. She said: “For someone who has battled with anger management issues, my dad has grown tremendously.”